An Alternative Approach for the Analyses and Interpretation of Attachment Sort Items
- Författare
- KIRKLAND, J., BIMLER, D., DRAWNEEK, A., MCKIM, M. & SCHOLMERICH, A.
- Titel
- An Alternative Approach for the Analyses and Interpretation of Attachment Sort Items
- Utgivningsår
- 2004
- Tidskrift
- Early Child Development and Care
- Volym
- 174
- Sidor
- 701–719
- Sammanfattning
Attachment Q‐Sort (AQS) is a tool for quantifying observations about toddler/caregiver relationships. Previous studies have applied factor analysis to the full 90 AQS item set to explore the structure underlying them. Here we explore that structure by applying multidimensional scaling (MDS) to judgements of inter‐item similarity. AQS items are arranged in the MDS solution along three easily interpretable axes: a model that is compatible with but more parsimonious than factor analysis solutions. This geometrical approach suggests ways to modify the AQS—primarily a research tool—to make it more practical for clinical applications. Sets of AQS data are represented and interpreted in the three‐dimensional model as vectors. Summaries at a finer‐grained level are obtained by finding points in the model where variability across datasets is greatest. We report re‐analyses of archival (published) data, and also data collected with streamlined procedures more suitable in the field. Although not reported here, collection and analysis can both be performed online via a website. The general methodology is not restricted to the current application of toddler attachment.